Thankfully, It Is Almost Over....

[ChillDoubt]

by that, I am of course refering to the F1 World Championship, or rather the World Tyre Management Stakes as it ought to be renamed.
How is it that the world's best driver can (in one race I have vague memory of) decide not to go for the Top 10 shootout in Q3 in order to save his tyres for the race the day after? Surely the paying public at that race/qulaifying session were cheated.
This has without doubt been the most insipid, boring season on record and I hope that next season's (supposedly) sweeping changes by the FIA will hopefully make it more of an open field, though amputating Vettel's right foot may be going a tad too far.....

Am I alone in reviewing the season like this?

[Mattk]

As with Schumacher before him when one man dominates people inevitably switch off in their droves. I still don't rate Vettel and if they were honest nor do most of the F1 community. He is in the best car and clearly is very fast but on a number of occasions when he has been one on one in an equal situation with another driver he has come up short.

[excelsior-1]

i think they should get rid of the techno-stuff like DRS and KERS, leaving a more level playing field

that way, the race outcomes will be down to the skills of the drivers, and not the big budget teams

[New Judge]

There are plenty of disciplines in motor sport that do not have the technicalities and other features that attend F1. It is a highly technical sport that does not depend solely - nor even in the main - on driver skill. It is a test of driving but also of design capabilities (hence the constructors' championship). Those wanting a test of purely driver skill should go for something like the Touring Cars championship or perhaps the Porsche Supercup or Formula Renault.

The answer is plain and simple for those who do not like races dependant on things like tyre strategy or design advantages - simply do not watch F1.

[grumpy01]

Can't think of anything more boring.I'm off to watch some paint dry.

[ToraToraTora]

I recommend you stop watching F1 and probably motor racing generally. Obviosuly far too complex for you to worry your pretty little head about. Stick to 22 blokes kicking a bladder around a field and whinning when they split an eyelash.

[sunny-dave]

Next year they will all be driving the F1 equivalent of a Toyota Prius ...

... I look forward to qualifying sessions where Birkenstock wearing drivers compete at multiple disciplines including tree hugging and knitting their own muesli ....

[ChillDoubt]

I recommend you stop watching F1 and probably motor racing generally. Obviosuly far too complex for you to worry your pretty little head about. Stick to 22 blokes kicking a bladder around a field and whinning when they split an eyelash.
------------------------
Why would I want to do that when I've played rugby in HM Forces and for a large part of my adult life and am now a rugby referee? You're barking up the wrong tree (again).
So you're saying that this season in F1 has been thrilling and exciting, eh TTT? If so, you need to get out more.....

[ToraToraTora]

I didn't say that, nor did I attempt to summarise an entire sport by focusing on one tiny aspect. Any sport can be made to sound futile if you so desire.

[ChillDoubt]

One tiny aspect? It's the biggest factor in F1 racing, as everybody knows!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22654575

[ChillDoubt]

From the link:

The need to manage tyre life, detractors say, has led to meaningless overtaking manoeuvres, drivers instructed by faceless engineers in the pits not to fight a rival on fresher tyres because doing so will over-use the tyres, prevent them making their pit stop on the right schedule, negatively affect their overall race time.

Most vocal are world champions Red Bull.

Team principal Christian Horner says the tyres are "too marginal". World champion Sebastian Vettel says "driving is very different to what we knew and what we like". His team-mate Mark Webber adds: "You get five fast laps per weekend. (Car) upgrades are data-driven. Driver feedback is minimal. Tyres are the biggest factor."

Is that plain enough?!

[New Judge]

Then don't watch it, CD !!!!

I can't stand football. I detest the cheating, the dramatics, the diving, the intimidation of referees and just about everything that goes with it. And guess what - I don't watch the bloody game !! At the same time I know it brings great pleasure to millions of people. I don't celebrate when their season is over (though I admit a certain relief).

F1 is a technical sport and it is not just the case of the fastest driver winning the cups. Put Sebastian Vettel in a Caterham or a Marussia and he will be an also ran. He may score a point or two (which those teams failed to do this year) because he is the best driver around at the moment. But he needs to have the best car as well and a team that can capitalise on the latest rules to get the best results. The sport has a constructors' championship to recognise just that.

[Mattk]

"Most vocal are world champions Red Bull."

I wonder if that is an old link as Red Bull gained the most from the mid-season tyre change. Up until then Mercedes and Ferrari were pretty much on an even playing field with Red Bull making for an interesting tussle.

I think they should shorten the races and do away with pit stops altogether.
Moto GP is much more entertaining thanks in no small part to these omissions. No ship-to-shore radio either.

[New Judge]

But why are there continual calls to make F1 like other motor sports?

It is not like other motor sports, it is completely different to almost all of them mainly for the reasons I have already explained. Whilst I like to watch them occasionally I'm not too fond of events where the cars are mainly identical such as the Porsche Supercup, Formula Renault or even GP2. I and many others like the technicalities and strategy decisions that go with F1. All motor racing does not have to appeal to all people. There is plenty of choice to enable fans to watch what best entertains them.